Selected by the Lakers with the 58th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Crawford, a 22 year-old native of Detroit, Michigan, played four seasons at the University of Kentucky, averaging 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 127 games (76 starts). In six preseason games with the Lakers, Crawford averaged 2.8 points in 7.3 minutes.

Heath, a 6-3 guard out of San Diego State spent last season playing in France for Entente Orleans 45 where he averaged 12.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25 games. In five preseason games with the Lakers, Heath averaged 1.4 points in 8.6 minutes.

Cooper, originally drafted in the sixth round (77th pick overall) of the 2007 NBA D-League Draft, returns to the D-Fenders looking to build on a strong finish to the 2007-08 season. In 15 games for the D-Fenders, Cooper averaged 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 20.1 minutes.

Dukes, Forehan-Kelly and Byrd all earned a spot on the D-Fenders training camp roster after impressing the coaches at the local player tryouts in late September. Sanders joins Crawford and Heath as players allocated to Los Angeles by the NBA D-League.

D-Fenders Training Camp Invitees:

Rashid Byrd

Darren Cooper

Joe Crawford

Johnny Dukes

Ryan Forehan-Kelly

Brandon Heath

Patrick Sanders

The D-Fenders tip off their third season in the NBA D-League on Friday, November 28 at 3:30 p.m. when they host the Bakersfield Jam at STAPLES Center. Having a game ticket for a Lakers home game also gives fans the opportunity to attend the D-Fenders game that same day at STAPLES Center.